1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a slit lamp microscope and more particularly to a slit lamp microscope adapted for use in examination and diagnosis with respect to such tissues of the eye as the cornea and crystalline lens.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the conventional slit lamp microscope, the white light from a light source such as a halogen lamp is passed through a slit formed between the opposing edges of two shield plates, the beam obtained in this way is directed onto an eye to be examined and the state of the cornea, crystal line lens etc. of the eye are observed using the light scattered by these eye tissues.
Because of its use of a halogen lamp or the like, however, the conventional slit lamp microscope has low illuminating light intensity and, as a result, it has not been possible with the microscope to observe slight cloudiness, turbidity and the like. Moreover, since the width of the slit is varied by adjusting the gap between the two shield plates, the quantity of light illuminating the eye under examination grows smaller as the width of the gap is narrowed. It has thus been impossible to reduce the size of the observation region beyond a certain limit.